Building any product company, leave alone a mobile app startup, has become a tad bit simpler, thanks to the multitude ofSaaS products available.
These not only make one’s life easier, but also enhance productivity, save costs and overall, help build a better app. So that you, as the entrepreneur, can stay focused on the essentials.
So without much ado, let’s get down to the tools we feel will help you in every step of building your first mobile app startup.
1. pttrns. Pttrns isa curated library of over 2,900 iPhone and iPad user-interface patterns. Use it as a design inspiration from some of the best iOS apps and you can adapt the designs for your Android app too.
2. TETHR. A free iOS design kit by InVision that offers 8 Photoshop document files and 138 templates with more than 250 components that you can incorporate in your designs.
3. Unsplash. Unsplash is a fantastic website where you can find high-resolution photos free of copyright that you can use the way you like. Finding great pictures for your app or website isn’t a challenge anymore. And best of all, it’s free!
4. Proto.io. If you want to create a prototype that offers a full mobile-app experience without coding, Proto is your solution. You get complete user flow and navigation with interactive elements such as gestures and touch events to make your mobile app prototype interactive.
5. Heatmaps. This tool helps you highlight the hottest areas on your mobile app, so that you can track gestures, device orientation, user flows (navigation) and engagement. This tells you what part of your mobile app is being used most by your audience.
6. Parse. This product is being used by some of the most popular apps such as Instagram. Parse gives you flexibility along with a easy to use iOS and Android developer kit that automatically takes care of synchronizing your app’s data with its cloud database. So if you don’t want to invest in a backend hosting server, go with Parse until you get traction.
7. Flurry. This free tool gives you insights into your users and your app’s performance. You can track every menu tap, understand the user path, create funnels to optimize conversions and create user segmentations. Essentially, complete analytics for your mobile app.
8. Intercom. For all apps that have user registration for usage, Intercom is a fantastic product that gives you insights on which of your users are using your product in real time, along with their activity. You can create specific events or track goals based on user flows. Once you have the insights on customer usage, you can reach out to your users based on filters through in-app messaging and email. A fantastic tool to engage and retain customers.
9. Mailchimp. One of the most popular email marketing tools out there that allows you to send targeted emails campaigns based to your users. Not only that, you can setup even an email series as an email marketing initiative using Mailchimp.
10. Pop.co. Don’t wait to launch a landing page for your mobile app. Pop.co offers a domain name, an email address and a starter page (landing page) where you can connect your social-media accounts, capture emails and even customize the template. With a monthly subscription plan, you don’t need to put up an upfront investment before you get traction.
11. Crittercism. A crash in your app can really spoil the app party. You don’t want your users to go through this experience. And so, Crittercism sends you real-time, actionable crash reports. Best of all, it’s free up to 30,000 monthly active users!
12. SensorTower. App Store Optimization is one crucial bit for app discovery. There isn’t a Google search equivalent in the app world and people rely on the App Store search to look for apps. Use SensorTower to discover keywords that impact organic downloads for your app. You can track daily ranking of your keywords as well as that of your competitors.
13. FameBit. Ever wonder how to get the best out of YouTube marketing without spending thousands of dollars? Connect with existing influencers that already have a presence! FameBit connects you to YouTube influencers to create content that is shared with a huge audience. Videos start at just $100.
Discovered any new tool or product that helps build a successful mobile app? Do share it in comments below.
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